Bird Database

Fox Sparrow

(Passerella iliaca)

State of the Birds
At a Glance

Habitat

Migration

Short distance

Population

Increasing

Threats

Habitat maturation

Conservation Actions

More data are needed on population trends and magnitudes of threats

Fox Sparrow

(Passerella iliaca)

For a long time, this large attractive sparrow was only seen during migration in the Granite State. They typically showed up late in the fall, and again in March or early April, and often in the company of Dark-eyed Juncos. Since 2000 however, they’ve been extending their residence time in the state in both summer and winter. Fox Sparrows historically wintered south of New England, but like many other “half-hardies” they have been increasing in frequency in southern New Hampshire between December and February as our winters become milder.

At the opposite end of the state, Fox Sparrows have been slowly moving south during the breeding season. The first such record for the state was a bird seen along the Canadian border in June of 1996, and for the next 15 years the species was reported irregularly in summer as far south as Errol. Around 2010 Fox Sparrows made the jump to the White Mountains, and are now a reliable, albeit uncommon, species in shrubby areas at higher elevations. Why this northern species has expanded its breeding range south as our climate warms remains a mystery. One theory is that extensive forest harvest to our north and east has created abundant early successional habitat. Fox Sparrows moved into such areas in Maine and Canada and from there were better positioned to colonize New Hampshire.

The Fox Sparrows we see in New England are of the “red” or “taiga” subspecies, which nests across the boreal forest from Alaska to Newfoundland. In the west there are three more distinct groups, each of which may represent a separate species. In the western mountains are the “thick-billed” and “slate-colored” types, which are mostly gray on the head and back and have duller red wings and tail. Along the Pacific coast from Washington to Alaska is the “sooty” Fox Sparrow, an all dark-brown form with little to no red. These western forms are extremely rare in the east, and the only record of one from New Hampshire is a “sooty” in Dover during the winter of 2009-10.

Seasonal Abundance

Relative abundance based on eBird data. Numbers indicate likelihood of finding this species in suitable habitat at a given time of year, not actual numbers encountered.

Fox Sparrow
Range Map

Information for the species profiles on this website was compiled from a combination of the sources listed below.

  • The Birds of New Hampshire. By Allan R. Keith and Robert B. Fox. 2013. Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological club No. 19.

  • Atlas of the Breeding Birds of New Hampshire. Carol R. Foss, ed. 1994. Arcadia Publishing Company and Audubon Society of New Hampshire

  • Birds of the World. Various authors and dates. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

  • Data from the Breeding Bird Survey

  • Data from the Christmas Bird Count